1. Don't be greedy. Install systems that are streamlined for your needs and employees. For a full-fledged customer-relationship management solution, you can always trade up to Microsoft Dynamics CRM. But ask yourself how much customer data you actually need to leverage opportunities. Moreover, in this age of heightened sensitivities, might customers balk or walk if you request too much personal data? "What's needed is the least system that impacts the most revenue," says Michael Treacy, author of "Double-Digit Growth." Don't create an overly complex or ambitious system that tries to capture every byte of info or data from customers. Start simply. You can always change it later if you find a need for more details.

2. Don't expect magic. No one thinks expense-tracking software will solve the problem when travel-and-entertainment costs spike. You simply change practices and set new guidelines and rules. Yet when it comes to sales or contact software, somehow, businesses expect the mere act of capturing customer data to boost sales revenue. It won't. Business contact-management software systems can't succeed unless you solve your communications problems before using it, not afterward, cautions Susan Gilbert, a sales consultant in San Diego.

3. Do put customers first. Dave Ratner, based in Agawam, Mass., owns four retail shops called Soda & Pet City and he's been relying on customer-management software for years. He says that small businesses can now capture customer names, transactions, buying patterns and just about everything else they may ever need to know about the customer. Soda & Pet City routinely uses that data to send out targeted promotions, including postcards that let customers know when their preferred brand of pet food is on sale, as well as special offers, discount coupons and other deals that aren't offered to the general public. "We live by our database," Ratner says. But he warns that none of it will make a difference if the salespeople aren't good or if managers and clerks don't share the same goals.

4. Don't just collect data; manage it. The growing dilemma for business nowadays is what to do with all this data, including the issue of trying to integrate ever-proliferating new bytes with older information. Dirty data is a ballooning problem. At least 5% of household contact info becomes invalid every month, according to Meta Group, a division of market researcher Gartner. Increasingly, data quality and management will be the keys to whether it's worthwhile to invest time and resources in business contact databases and software. Meta Group estimates that over the next several years, the number of companies deploying data-quality software will grow by 20% to 30% each year. Make sure you have policies in place that update and scrub your lists on a regular basis.

5. Do make allowances for sales staffers. A terrific salesperson is not likely to develop tidy IT habits. Yes, there are exceptions. But selling typically attracts a certain personality-and that's not the type that enjoys manipulating data on a computer screen. Organizations rarely acknowledge this truism. As a result, many business contact-management programs quietly become dusty, outdated and eventually ineffective. Prepare for this. You may need to set up some fail-safe procedures to keep the sales team on track.